Eating in Korea

When Tony and I travel we always enjoy trying some of the local foods. Actually, one of my favorite things to do in a new country is visit the local grocery store. I find it fascinating! Heading to Korea, however, I was pretty nervous about what foods we would be eating. While I do like to try new foods, I also prefer to “play it safe” and eat things that I can identify, etc.  In many Asian cultures, the foods are less identifiable, at least to my Midwestern USA eyes.

I have been to a couple of Korean restaurants in the US and Tony’s family sometimes makes Korean food, so I am familiar with a few basis such as Bulgogi, Bibimbap, Japchae and Mandu. My goal for this trip was to keep an open mind and to try street food – a very common thing here, especially in the evenings. So, here are a few things I tried (I’m sorry that I don’t have photos of these, though I am sure an internet search will turn up plenty):

Bibimbap: I got to try this a few times, both in the hot stone bowl (dolsot bibimbap) and without. It is basically a rice dish with a small amount of meat and a variety of vegetables, with a spicy red pepper paste on top. I prefer the stone bowl version as the rice gets crispy and there is a soft egg on top that mixes with the spicy red pepper paste nicely.  Very similar to what I’ve had in the US and one of the easy introductions to Korean cuisine.

Bulgogi: We had this twice – once where it was made and served for us, and once where we cooked it at the table. The meat is sliced extremely thin, thinner than I’ve seen in the US. In general I find it kind of bland. They don’t marinate it in any seasonings, but rather you are to eat it with the assorted kimchi sides (and since I can’t stand kimchi, I end up eating it plain). It was fun to cook it up on our table though, and again it’s an easy introduction to Korean food.

Makgeolli: this is an alcoholic drink, similar to beer or soda. Sweet, bubbly and easy to drink. I think it’s pretty yummy, and apparently it has some health benefits to it (minerals, fibers and active enzymes). Yum!

Soju: this is a must try and a very common drink among Koreans. A bottle of soju is cheaper than soda or water! It has a higher alcohol content than beer or wine, but less than hard alcohol. Unfortunately it doesn’t have much flavor and while I don’t mind it, I don’t love it.

Koong Joong Tteokpoki: Served on a portable burner in a large pot, it is a braised dish of sliced rice cakes, meat/seafood, egg and seasonings like chili (spicy) or bean (more savory) paste. There is also a common version served as street food without all of the meat and seafood. This is where eating gets more adventurous! There are fish cakes, squid (with the little suckers), mussels and more. I ate it all except the mussels, since I don’t care for them and there weren’t too many too go around. Interesting and I know I could eat it again if needed – though I think I liked the bean paste more than the chili paste.

Saengseon Gui: grilled fish, in this case mackerel. Not a big fish fan, but this was decent. It comes as a whole fish, sliced in half. So you pick the meat away from the bones, dip it into a sauce and eat it (all with chopsticks, of course!).

Haemul Pajeon: a form of the Korean pancake made with egg, flour and green onion. Seafood was added to the one we tried. I didn’t love the seafood, but the rest was very tasty.

Mandu: we had several varieties – steamed and fried, filled with a variety of things. Pretty yummy!

Bungeo-bbang: street food! And so very yummy, I could eat these all the time. Fried bread (chewy and a bit sweet) filled with sweet red bean paste and shaped like a carp. Served warm. Perfect for a dessert girl like me! And you can get 3 good sized fish for 1,000 won ($1).

Toast: another street food and another “five star” rating from me. These are little pieces of a sweet chewy bread with an egg in the middle (cooked). Served warm the savory from the egg and the sweet from the bread are a great combo. Also very warming on a cold night. One toast is 1,000 won and they are sold at the same stands as the bungeo-bbang.

We’ve also tried some snacks (no idea what they are; sold like chips in the convenience store), buns (dough filled with meats or sweets), soups (served with meals and I have no idea what they are), tofu (part of the food tour….and it was just regular tofu) and more. We also tried McDonalds and Burger King – both have a bulgogi burger that Tony really likes. Seoul has a lot of fast food restaurants with menus similar but different to what we have in the US. There are also so many coffee shops. You can easily see 5 shops in one building with 3 of them being coffee shops. Coffee is a bit more expensive here, but on par with what we are used to.

While I was nervous about eating here in Seoul (and we did avoid many places without a menu in English), I have found several things I enjoy. Maybe now I will feel more comfortable looking through the Korean cook books I have at home! Now we are off to the airport. Tony is excited to check it out – apparently it’s one of the top airports in the world (with a golf course, movie theater and more AT the airport!). Now it is on to Japan for our overnight, then back to Minnesota.

A Weekend of Celebrations

I had a great weekend full of celebration. It began Friday night when Tony and I hosted our small group for a kick off potluck dinner. We have a terrific time catching up with our small group friends and planning our upcoming study.  We will be reading and discussing "Thinking. Loving. Doing.: A Call to Glorify God with Heart and Mind," edited by John Piper. We joined this group of Christian friends a few years ago and they are such a blessing. It was a perfect beginning to the weekend!

Saturday was a busy day as well and included celebrating a good friend of mine at her baby shower. She's a generous, caring and loving person and it was so nice to have a chance to celebrate her and rejoice over the soon-to-be family of 3. There was also a bit of birthday celebrating going on, including a breakfast specially made by Tony and a fun dinner out later in the day. It's official, I'm now 35! I was reflecting a bit on birthdays and celebrations and remember Tony and I celebrating my 21st birthday. I know that there were several years after that birthday where we did not celebrate together, but it was a reminder of how fast time flies. I can't believe that Tony and I have known each other for so long. :)

Sunday was day #3 of the celebrating. We hosted Tony's family for a birthday dinner -- celebrating my Father-in-Law's birthday as well as my own. As many of you know, I love making desserts. I asked my Father-in-Law what type of desserts he especially liked. I didn't know this before, but he really likes fruit pies! Unfortunately, I'm not a huge fruit pie fan (don't get me wrong...it's a dessert. I will eat it and enjoy it. Especially with ice cream! But I didn't really want to make one). Instead, I took the fruit pie idea....added a bit of gumption...and decided to try the traditional Tarte Tatin. It's a french apple tart that involves caramelizing the apples in a skillet on the stove, topping it with a puff pastry (that's what I used), pie or tart dough and baking it in the oven. This is one of the recipes in Dorie Greenspan's "Baking from My Home to Yours." This cookbook is chock full of delicious recipes and fantastic tips. My favorite tip for making the Tarte Tatin is that you must "quickly and confidently" flip the skillet onto a serving dish, keeping your tart intact. Not only did I manage to keep it all in once piece, but it was also delicious! For more on Dorie Greenspan, check out her blog (and please please please try one of her recipes. They are amazing!): 
http://doriegreenspan.com

Beyond the celebrating, yesterday afternoon also found me switching our house over to fall. Flannel sheets are now on the bed (Tony could hardly contain his happiness at that change), the fall table cloth is on the dining room table, fall dishtowels are hanging on the stove and the fall scented candles are beginning to replace the summer ones. Maybe this weekend I'll whip up the first batch of chili!  

I'm Thinking About Cheating

On the birthday cake, that is! 
Our little guy's first birthday is just around the corner -- July 7th. It breaks my heart to miss the big day in person, so Tony and I plan to have a very small celebration. We will head on over to a local Korean restaurant (King's) and then come back to our place for birthday cake. What I really want is a picture of Tony and I with a "Happy 1st Birthday" cake so we can keep it in his photo album for him to see when he gets older. I want him to know that even from afar we were loving him and thinking about him as he turned one.


Back to the cake. There are 3 problems:

1. There won't be many of us eating this cake, so I don't want something too big and expensive. We aren't hosting a big party, it will just be Tony and I and possibly the in-laws, if they're around (it's a holiday weekend after all). Most bakery cakes are not only expensive but sized for a larger group, which is a waste.
2. I have never actually decorated or written on a cake. I can barely ice a cake without having half of it wind up crumbly (one time I had to bring a "rustic" cake to book club because the frosting and the cake were at war with one another!).  Which means the bakery cake might not be such a bad idea. As much as I wouldn't mind learning how to decorate, this might not be the best time (see #3).
3. We are thinking of going camping for a few days leading up to the celebration (over the 4th), returning late in the afternoon on the day of the celebration. That means I'd only have a couple of hours to unpack/unload, get myself and the house cleaned AND make a cake from scratch.

My cheating options include Mr. Duncan Hines (and maybe some home made frosting and attempt at writing on the cake) or a trip to the local bakery. Either way, I always imagined myself baking birthday cakes from scratch and it is doubtful that will happen this time around. Sadly, I can't blame it on the fact that our lives are so busy with a nearly one-year-old, nor can I say it's because he asked for something specific. Oh well, I suppose lowering my own bar isn't the worst thing in the world. And, at the end of the day, there will be cake! And a one year old!

Cooking Korean

I have a 3-ring binder on my cook book shelf that is full of recipes I've cut out of magazines or found online. It's my "sounds good, I should try this sometime" book. When I do try a recipe out of the book, we then make a decision: is this a keeper, or is this a one-time only recipe. Many have turned out to be one time only, though only a couple have been complete failures. 

Last night I tried Sesame-Soy Meatballs and it's a keeper! Tony said that it has all of the traditional Korean flavors, so I'd like to think that I finally made something Korean. I clearly need to up my repertoire a bit, but I am pleased that my first try went so well. 

Feeling like you need a little Korean flavor in your life? Here's the recipe (and note that Tony said that his kimchi was especially good with the meatballs).

Sesame-Soy Meatballs

from Cooking Light

Ingredients

1/3 cup minced green onions

2 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

1 tablespoon chile paste (such as sambal oelek)

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 pound ground sirloin

Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.

2. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Add beef; mix gently to combine. With moist hands, shape beef mixture into 20 (1 1/2-inch) meatballs.

3. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs to pan; cook 4 minutes, turning to brown meatballs on all sides. Arrange browned meatballs in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining meatballs. Bake meatballs at 400° for 7 minutes or until done.

Serve with brown rice or asian noodles.

The Glorious Sweet Potato

I think sweet potatoes qualify as my favorite vegetable (though grilled zucchini or sweet corn come in at a close second). I don't remember eating them when I was younger but am so glad to have discovered them as an adult! The sweet potato is only distantly related to the regular potato. It's high in beta-carotene and vitamin A and can be eaten as is or made sweet (with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, etc.) or savory (think onions, rosemary, thyme, garlic, sour cream, etc.). They are good baked, roasted, sauteed and added to couscous or pasta, sliced and treated as fries, mashed or grilled. You just can't go wrong!

My personal favorite is the Red Garnet. It's deeper in color and flavor than the traditional yam and is usually found right next to them in the grocery store. Last night we enjoyed a mashed variety. I've dropped the recipe below as it's one we've made a few times. The result is quite tasty! Just be sure to slice the potatoes as directed, otherwise they take a long time to cook up. Enjoy.

Herb Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Caramelized Onion

From Cooks Country; Serves 4 to 6

This recipe can be doubled and prepared in a Dutch oven, but the cooking time will need to be doubled as well. If you prefer, substitute 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme for the thyme sprig (but do not remove in step 2).

Ingredients

5
 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces

3 
tablespoons heavy cream

1 1/4 
teaspoons sugar

2 
pounds sweet potatoes (2 large or 3 medium), peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

1
 sprig fresh thyme (see note)

1 
small onion, chopped

1 
tablespoon sour cream

Instructions

1. Combine 4 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon sugar, thyme, and sweet potatoes in large saucepan. Cook, covered, over low heat until potatoes are fall-apart tender, 35 to 40 minutes.

                       

2. While sweet potatoes are cooking, melt remaining tablespoon butter in small nonstick skillet and add onion, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook over low heat until onion is caramelized, about 15 minutes. Set aside until sweet potatoes are done cooking.

                       

3. Once sweet potatoes are done cooking, take pan off heat. Discard thyme sprig, add remaining tablespoon cream, and mash sweet potatoes with potato masher. Stir in onion and sour cream. Serve.